I got a free laptop!

When asked by colleagues, who are interested to get into the Doctors to the Barrios Program, if being a DTTB is ok, my answer varies. It depends on my mood, recent experience or how I know the person asking me. But my reply usually ends with, 'But it all depends on what are your intentions in joining the program.' Followed by, 'If you want to get in for the money, forget about it.' I believe that no amount of money can compensate for the the 'Filipino politics' and 'isolation' that comes with the job.

In fact, I warned my Dad that his return of investments in my medical education might come later than expected when I signed up for the program. I expected absolutely the worst possible financial compensation upon deployment. These strategies worked because in the trying times when my allowance was being held by the LGU I worked for, I was pushed even further to continue my mission and serve the constituents of that municipality despite not having financial rewards.

But God really has a special way of taking care of us when we choose to forget ourselves and serve others. As my friend aptly puts the other day when I told her about these 'unexpected blessing', bawi bawi lang yan.

In the 32nd Continuing Medical Education of the DTTB, I got an Asus Eee Pc, and an MP4 player, for free! Yey!

Both gadgets were awared because some of my colleagues and I were part of several E learning/ E Telehealth programs. The programs include studying radiology through electronic gadgets like PC and MP4 and referring patients from the barrios through different E modes like SMS, MMS, email and voice mail. Thank God for the internet because life is definitely easier for us MDs in remote areas.

I wasn't expecting to be one of the beneficiaries of the free laptops because, well, I don't think I was able to answer very well the questionnaire they gave out a week ago. One of the questions was, ' Why do you think you deserve a laptop?' I don't remember much of what I wrote but I do remember writing that 'I can't really say if I deserve one.' But I guess they think I do. Thank you.

The laptops are grants from the UP Medical Alumni Society in America (UPMASA), through the UP Manila-National TeleHealth Center. The laptop is technically still is a property of the DOH-Health Human Resource Development Bureau, the office where the DTTB program is a part of. It will only be a property of the DTTB after a year of weekly referrals and blogs from the grantee. The blog would be as easy as ABC for me, but the referrals, I have to work on.

I am a little overwhelmed right now. But let me end this by with something that I read from some forum before I became a DTTB, follow your passion, money will follow. This has been one of my mantras in the past two years and it never fails.